Rhea got up from the couch after eating a bit of jerky and followed after the knight with her bag slung over her shoulder and her quiver strapped to her waist. She gave Aurea a pat on the shoulder as she opened the door and began to walk outside, "Come then, let us look for a good spot to watch the trouble." Rhea would scout the area once outside for all vantage points.

"Ya dunt need to worry bout how fast I can work lassie. Om guessing that as we hold out fer the night, ye want me to begin makin silver weapons so that instead of luggin this tub, we can just carry the blades." Rudolph tapped the tub of gold and watched it ripple. "Dat's funny... lassie what do you know about this fire? Cause this ain't normal. The fact the golds been meltin but not our flesh is sayin something. Shame that the gold is upfront 'nd not the silver." He tapped the iron and silver tub, "We ain't gonna be able to move these things so best we figure out a way to strengthen the flames. Hopefully it'll continue not burnin us." Rudolph looked into the flame to see if it was feeding off some type of fuel, but it being a holy relic he doubt it. So the dwarf knelt down on one knee, his hands folded in front of him as he bent down his head and prayed. "Thou who forged the stars 'nd heavens. Who looks upon what we create and call it good. I ask from ye a boon, to help me help others through yer grace. Thy flame is needed to forge tools of protection and cleansing, however it grows weak in this time of darkness when we need it the most. So I ask ye to grace us with a miracle."

The flame responded to the dwarf's prayer, its flame grew brighter and its comforting warmth enveloped Rudolph. As he continued to pray, the fire understood. It grew brighter and its flames shot up into the wallface behind it. The fire burned away the flora that blocked its path, indentations previously covered now for all to see. The path winded up into the ceiling and radiated out. Several went down into the tubs, heating their bases. The rest lit up alcoves with fire, lighting up the barely lit forge area.

When Rudolph had finished, he noticed that some metals in the tub had already begun melting. The light also illuminated the corpses around them. They all looked fairly young, some obviously milita, the others Children of the Sun paladins.


As the ranger and knight left the premises of the town hall, one of the archers whistled from above. The rest of the patrol quickly moved the nearest they could from their treetop bridges, peering into the darkness with the arrows ready to fly.

Sir Dreimon looked up to the archer who had signalled, waiting for another call to judge whether it was danger or a false-alarm. The townsfolk around them were paralyzed, awaiting instruction as the soldiers of Fedimia pooled closer to the center of town. The knight captain looked over to Rhea and Aurea with bated breath then back to the archer at the bridges. Moments pass until one of them looses an arrow.

A howl of pain echoes in the night.

"Women and children inside!" Sir Dreimon ordered. "Anyone who can fight, fight! Thornfell will not fall to the beasts of the aberrant night."

Dreimon's squad brought their arms to bare, closing in on the gate.

Visage, seeing the fire spread, nodded in approval. He stepped out into the stairwell and climbed up to the top of it. He checked carefully to see if he heard or saw anything. Night was spreading fast.

(If he does see/hear anything, He will retreat)

Seeing the cost is clear, the changling cast Stone Shape on the stairwell behind him, molding the walls and stone to entirely seal the entrance to the basement. Turning, he looked across the church at the benches. With eight castings of Wood Shape he was able to make the church pews into a type of transport sled, with a smooth bottom, high sides, and hitches. Each one was narrow enough to pass through the front of the church so long as the doors were removed. Thankfully the spells worked fast, keeping his time up in danger short.

With his work finished, he cast Meld With Stone and slipped down through the floor, dropping out at the foot of the stairs.

"I've sealed us in, and there are now a set of heavy sleds we can use to drag the weapons we make back to town. Not pretty, but shaped right and smooth enough to get the job done. Night is already setting in early, though...and the forest just doesn't feel right. I don't know how well these monsters will be able to try to get through the stone wall I've created...hopefully that and these fires and silver will keep them at bay."

_____________________________________________

Total Essence Channeled today: 99

Rabbit shut his book, causing a slight wind throughout the area, before stretching a bit and running to the fellow fightin'-men.
"I'm willin' to help a bit. What is teh plan, friend?"
As he spoke, his wary eyes darted around, his body poised to make a sudden move if need be.

Rudolph got back up and tapped his head then his heart with his right hand. "Bless ye." He muttered. The dwarf looked over to Visage then lumbered past to check the new stone blockade. "Magic sure does defy the realms of logic." He grunted. "Though there ain't no hole here so less you want us to suffocate, hope ye have enough magic to create a hole. Otherwise, ye just sealed us in a tomb."

Aurea walked out along the ranger, almost surprised that she took her proclamation seriously. Seeing everyone outside wait in nervous suspense, she too began to listen to the night, but gave the captain a reassuring nod when he looked to them. Then finally, an awful howl tore through the silence.

The knight let out a barely audible hiss through her teeth, and without changing her posture, moved on towards the gate. "How many do you see?" Aurea hasn't quite yelled, but definitely spoke loud enough for the nearest sentry above to hear.

Rhea pulled an arrow from her quiver and set it against her bow. The arrow was carved entirely from a very dark wood. Hopefully there wouldn't be too many creatures attacking tonight, especially since her main concern right now was for her own survival. This quest of theirs might not even come to fruition, and the idea of wasting such time and getting her hopes up just irritated her further.

No more shipments. The town was now isolated.

The warning cry from Sir Dreimon.

The beasts were approaching.

Lera readied herself. She said farewell to the mayor and the new guy and headed off outside. Among the potions she possessed, Cat's Eyes and Strength Enhancement would prove to be useful. She learnt the art of alchemy, so making new ones shouldn't be too difficult. She gazed at her wooden blade. Made from Elder Wood, it should prove useful in controlling her magic. She may not be able to access the essence of the outside world, but her own is a different story. Strength Enhancement, Agility Boost and Constitutional Defense. One at a time, lasting two minutes per use. All that training should allow her physical body to handle the magic many more times. She's no front liner, but supporting pick-off of key targets or protecting the flank would suit her.

She would assist the ranger in her task and cover the knight. And so she assured them her cooperation in ensuring the safety of the party.

"Rhea, Aurea. I got your back."

The night has been eerily quiet. Not a sound has been heard from outside the church's walls. Rudolph has busied himself with the forge, whose warmth and heat kept the team away from the nightly chill while also melting the tubs' contents.

Esther watched the dwarf from afar before settling down on the opposite wall face to the forge. She set her lantern down in front of her and began to meditate. The lantern's light pulsed like a heartbeat before slowly fading into a dim light.


The archer from above had heard Aurea's question but did not dare answer yet. The undead paladin could clearly see the archer straining herself to get a better look; she waved signals to her fellows on the tree bridges to spread out and check.

Sir Dreimon looked to Rabbit and questioned the man's viability in combat but did not say a word of it. He was too busy worrying about the night and its terrors. "Get a weapon and be ready." He said simply. The night's silence was immediately pierced by the onset of howls. Dozens of them.

The archers at the bridges quickly readied their arrows and scoured the ground for their prey, some letting loose the bowstrings when a lycan was in sight. Up in the trees, Rhea could sense something odd. There was no wind that accompanied tonight's darkness and she could make out no other sillouette in the treetops other than the archers. Then she saw it.

Several feet above the archers, quiet as they were, were beasts the size of humans. Their yellow eyes mimicked the stars of the night sky. There were dozens of them but they didn't move. Seemingly waiting some sort of signal.

"Ah, my friend, I need not a weapon. I kin' take these beasts."
He quickly hid his book in a safe place, before walking back to his position and unraveling his sleeves, showing multiple scars on his arms, which had a respectable amount of muscle.
He went into a simple crouching position, one leg poised back, one leg stretching forward, and a hard-as-iron forearm in front. His other arm lay back, a simple palm ready to strike.
The position would set him up to have a good chance to react to any sudden attack.

Rhea stepped around the town hall and ducked beneath the structure as best as she could. One breath later she peaked back out and launched an arrow into the canopy above, aiming straight for one of the beasts in hopes that she would catch it by surprise. If she didn't, the creature would still have to move to avoid the arrow. In either case, it's presence would be discovered and perhaps the town's folk would be able to defend themselves better. After she let the arrow loose, Rhea would duck back into the shadows to keep herself concealed as best she could.

Everyone seemed to be in position. Rabbit the melee brawler, Aurea the close ranged knight, Rhea the concealed ranger. That left her, Lera the jack-of-all-trades.

"Should've made some potions." She learnt alchemy, but it wasn't something instinctual to recall at a moment's notice. Lack of preparation aside, she perched herself atop a balcony on the town's hall, surveying the area for possible lycan attacks. The ranger would cover for her, she was sure. With her speed and strength, she could turn the tide on any surprise attack launched onto the village. She would call out too, as a warning cry.

The art of forging began with the acquisition of the proper materials. Rudolph began siphoning quantities of iron into crucibles and adding powdered carbon, such as charcoal and coal, into them to create cast iron, keeping them by the forge to keep them molten. Cast iron was iron with a high carbon content which made it very tough, but too brittle to make suitable weapons. Iron, meanwhile, was naturally too soft to make suitable weapons with. Thus the cast iron was then mixed with more molten iron to create a type of steel labeled as crucible steel. This two step process allowed for a more uniform distribution of the carbon as to make a higher quality steel. The crucible would safely heat up the metal hit enough to rid it of any impurities such as slag. Once the crucible steel was ready, it would be poured into a cast.

Once it solidified, it would then be heated again in the forge, but not to melting but rather until it was soft and forgeable. This would then be beaten with a hammer then quenched in water. This process is to help cleanse it of more impurities as when the metal cools, it would solidify in two different states, a more brittle crystaline state, and then the more optimal durable lattice state. So when the metal was heated the crystals would shatter off when struck with a hammer, and the lattice would flex to the blows. Quenching was a way to rapidly cool the metal and prevent the crystals from forming again. Rudolph would then continue heating and beating the metal until it fit his needs. This was a long and arduous process and so it would take him a while to create the weapons, but this was made up for its quality. The most time consuming process would be waiting for the metal to solidfy the first time, though the process of forging was also very long.

Each sword would take a few hours to make, and then a few minutes to then be wrapped in silver. But the dwarf hardly left himself with idle hands, so he would use all molds available to him and along with making blades, he made spear and arrow heads. If he had the time, he would use cast iron to also make farming and construction tools for the village. He kept himself busy.